Veterans and Disabilities

Veterans and Service Members face many issues when returning home from a war. Combined data from 2004 to 2006 indicate that an annual average of 7 of veterans e!"erienced serious "sychological distress #S$%&' 7.( met the criteria for substance use disorder #S)%&' and (.* had co+occuring S$% and S)%. ,he number of suicides among veterans and returning soldiers is greater now than it has been in any conflict the )nited States has been in. Soldiers face many stresses that civilians do not e!"erience. ,hose stresses can range from "ost+de"loyment stress' de"ression' or "ost+traumatic stress. Veteran unem"loyment is nearly twice the national average. Veteran-s who have had sustained in.uries or trauma while engaged in the military have many services available to them such as the ones listed below which can be found at www.va.gov. Veterans of the )nited States armed forces may be available for a broad range of services and "rograms "rovided by the V/. 0ligibility for most V/ benefits is based u"on discharge from active military service under other than dishonorable conditions' and certain benefits re1uire service during war time.

2urial and Memorials 3ncase of a death they have burial and memorial services available free of charge. ,he burial benefits available include a gravesite in any of their (4( national cemeteries' government headstone or mar5er' a burial flag and a $residentail Memorial Certificate. 0ligible "ersons for burial in a national cemetery include veterans and members of the armed forces #/rmy' 6avy' /ir 7orce' Marine Cor"s' Coast 8uard& and many others that 3 have not listed but can be found on the V/ website. Veterans that are not eligible would include those that have been dishonorable discharged' convicted of a crime' se! offenders and others that can be found on the V/ website as well.

9ealth Care Veterans are offered the V/ health care and V/ dental insurance. Many veterans 1ualify for cost+free health care services based on a com"ensable service+connected condition or other 1ualifing factors. ,he Veterans 9ealth /dministration is /mericas largest integrated health care system with over ('700 sites of care' including hos"itals' community clinics' community living centers' domiciliaries' read.ustment counseling centers' and various other facilities serving :.76 million Veterans each year. Veterans that de"loy and return with any ty"e of mental or "hysical health condition may recieve u" to five years of treatment either free or with co+"ay. Substance abuse' $,S%' ,23 are treated free of charge.

2enefits ; Services V/ administers a variety of benefits and services that "rovide financial and other forms of assistance to Veterans' their de"endents' and survivors. Ma.or benefits include Veterans- com"ensation' Veterans- "ension' survivors- benefits' rehabilitation and em"loyment assistance' education assistance' home loan guaranties' and life insurance coverage. %isability com"ensation is a monthly ta!+free benefit "aid to Veterans who are at least (0 disabled because of in.uries or diseases that were incurred in or aggravated during active duty' active duty for training' or inactive duty training. / disability can a""ly to "hysical conditions' such as a chronic 5nee condition' as well as mental health conditions' such as "ost+traumatic stress disorder #$,S%&. ,he survivors benefit amount is graduated according to the degree of the Veteran-s disability on a scale from (0 "ercent to (00 "ercent #in increments of (0 "ercent&. Com"ensation may also be "aid for disabilities that are considered related or secondary to disabilities occurring in service and for disabilities "resumed to be related to circumstances of military service' even though they may arise after service. 3f you have de"endents' an additional allowance may be added if your combined disability is rated 40 or greater.

,here are' however' some factors that may "resent barriers to services members in need of services. <ne reason is the V/ has a ma.or challenge with "roviding V/ benefits. Currently' there is an untreated bac5log of 400'000 cases. 3n addition' treatment facilities may be located very far from Veterans- homes' ma5ing it logistically challenging to access services. ,he V/ a""lication "rocess remains com"licated and adversarial. Veterans are not automatically enrolled in the V/' as many "eo"le thin5' when they finish their military service. ,hey need hel" finding V/ facilities' com"leting com"licated a""lications' managing the a""lication "rocess and a""ealing re.ected claims. Many Veterans who are disabled and unable to wor5 due to war trauma are waiting months and years for benefits they were "romised and have earned. ,his results in many Veterans with significant financial "roblems that can end u" homeless. / third of all homeless citi=ens in /merica are Veterans. /lthough Veterans recieve many benefits from the V/ there seem to be many flaws in the system because so many veterans go untreated. Some things they can im"rove on would be to ma5e the V/ benefits automatic when enlisting into the military' allow veterans to go to any hos"ital and not re1uire to use a V/ hos"ital' and build community homes for veterans who are homeless.